Mamata defends Kishenji encounter

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, defended the police encounter and dismissed the claims that the Maoist leader Kishenji was shot dead by security forces in a fake encounter. Ms Banerjee said that the police waited for three days for Kishenji to surrender. She claimed that the police announced on loudspeakers and offered a safe passage to Kishenji but the Maoists opened fire, forcing the police to retaliate.

Reacting to the claims made by Kishenji’s relatives and other activists that the Maoist leader was killed in a fake encounter, the Bengal CM said “I asked them what happened and how it happened. Didn’t you give a chance to him to surrender? They (security officials) said we gave them three days. We kept telling them on a loudspeaker that we will give safe passage and to maintain peace. They ignored it and started firing. 1000 round bullets were fired. If they didn’t take action, 500 villagers would have been killed.”

Top Maoist leader Kishenji was killed by security forces in a gunfight in a village of West Bengal’s Purulia district.He was killed after a 45 hours operation organised by the CRPF Cobra battalion. 2000 security personals were a part of this covet operation. Local channels claimed that he was reportedly killed in the Kushboni forests near Jhargram during anti-Maoist operations by the joint forces. They also claimed that his body had been found with an AK-47 lying beside him.

Mallojula Koteshwar Rao, also known as Kishenji, came into national prominence as the senior leader and politburo member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).